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(1757-98). English navigator George Vancouver was born on June 22, 1757, in King’s Lynn, England. He entered the Royal Navy at age 13 and sailed with James Cook on his second and third voyages (1772-75, 1776-79) to the Pacific Ocean. In 1791 Vancouver explored the coasts of Australia, New Zealand, Tahiti, and Hawaii before reaching the Pacific coast of North America in 1792. Over the next two years he mapped a major portion of the coast. He died on May 10, 1798, in Richmond, England.